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Lawn care and landscaping businesses can be very profitable. But how much should you, as the owner, actually be taking home? Unlike your employees’ hourly wages, what you make depends on how you pay yourself, how profitable your jobs are, and how efficiently your business runs from season to season.
This guide breaks down how much lawn care and landscaping business owners typically earn, why income ranges vary so widely, and how to pay yourself sustainably. You’ll also learn practical ways to increase profit (without adding tons of work to your plate).
Learn more: How to start a landscaping or lawn care business
Key takeaways
Here’s a quick overview of what lawn-based business owners should know about pay and profit:
Owner pay isn’t hourly: What you take home depends on profit, pricing, and how your business is set up—not hours worked.
Margins matter most: Keeping more profit from each job has a bigger impact on pay than simply booking more work.
Service mix impacts income: Pairing routine lawn care with higher-value landscaping work can raise earning potential.
Efficiency protects profit: Better scheduling, consistent pricing, and job tracking help keep more money in your pocket.
Jump ahead
Average landscaping business owner salary (2026)
The average lawn care business owner reports earnings of $127,973 annually.* However, that number can vary widely based on factors such as your location, how long you’ve been in business, and how you structure owner pay.
Income is often lower in the early years. Many new owners reinvest profits into equipment, marketing, or hiring, which limits personal pay while the business grows. Reported earnings on the low end—around $25,500 annually—are more common among newer or part-time businesses still working toward steady, predictable revenue.
For established owners, income is more closely tied to how efficiently the business runs and how owner pay is structured. Instead of one paycheck, many owners take a mix of:
- Salary (regular personal pay)
- Profit distributions (a share of business profit)
- Retained earnings (money left in the business to fund growth)
High-performing businesses in the 90th percentile report earnings near $293,500 annually, often supported by multiple crews, healthy profit margins, and systems that reduce the owner’s day-to-day workload.
These figures represent reported owner income—not guaranteed take-home pay—and are best used as a benchmark when deciding how much to pay yourself.
*Salary information based on 2026 data from ZipRecruiter.
Factors that affect your take-home pay
Lawn care and landscaping business owners don’t typically earn income in a single, predictable way. Instead, your take-home pay depends on how money moves through the business throughout the year.
Here’s what affects your salary as a landscaping business owner:
- How you pay yourself: Some owners take a set salary, others rely on profit distributions (pay based on profit), and many use a combination of both. Because of this, your pay may dip during slower months while funds stay in the business to cover expenses.
- Business maturity: Newer businesses often reinvest heavily in equipment, marketing, or hiring, which can limit personal income early on. As your business stabilizes, pay often becomes more consistent.
- Service mix: Lawn-only services typically generate steady work, but full-service landscaping, design, and hardscaping often bring in more revenue per job—which can mean more take-home pay.
- Season length: In seasonal markets, strong spring and summer revenue often supports the business through quieter months, affecting when and how reliably you can pay yourself.
- Pricing and profitability: Revenue alone doesn’t determine owner pay. Pricing that accounts for labor, materials, and overhead (ongoing business costs) matters more than simply booking more jobs.
- Operational efficiency: How smoothly your business runs—including scheduling, crew usage, and job tracking—has a major impact on profit and owner pay.
How much should you pay yourself as a landscaping business owner?
There’s no single “right” number for lawn care and landscaping business owners, but there is a sustainable way to think about owner pay. Most successful business owners pay themselves consistently, then scale that pay as the business becomes more profitable.
Many business owners use a mix of base pay plus profit, rather than a flat salary. You might take home 20% to 35% of net profit (what’s left after all expenses are paid). This keeps personal income tied to what the business can actually support. To figure out your number, start with net profit—not revenue—and work backward.
Let’s say your business brings in $250,000 in annual profit and nets $50,000 after expenses. Taking 30% of that profit translates to about $15,000 in owner pay, with the rest reinvested into the business. As margins improve, that percentage remains the same but the dollar amount grows. At $400,000 in net profit, that same 30% would support $120,000 in owner income.
For an in-depth breakdown of salary vs. profit-based pay, read our guide on how to pay yourself as a business owner.
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How to maximize profits as a landscaping business owner
Increasing your take-home pay doesn’t necessarily mean booking more jobs or working longer hours. For lawn care and landscaping business owners, profit growth usually comes from within: making small improvements to services, pricing, and day-to-day operations so more of each dollar earned stays in the business (and in your pocket).
These steps focus on practical changes that add up over time, whether you’re a solo lawn care pro or running multiple landscaping crews.
Step #1: Build a service mix that goes beyond mowing
A base of recurring lawn care customers creates steady, predictable cash flow, but profit grows faster when you layer in higher-value services. Many landscaping businesses increase margins by pairing routine maintenance work with seasonal or specialized work.
That might include aeration and overseeding, mulch and cleanups, irrigation checks, or smaller landscape upgrades. These services raise the average job value without requiring a full schedule overhaul, especially when you offer them to existing customers who already trust your work.
Learn more: 20+ landscaping services to offer clients
Step #2: Price landscaping work for margins, not just volume
More jobs don’t automatically equal more profit. If your pricing doesn’t account for labor, materials, overhead, and seasonality, your pay can stall even as revenue grows.
Successful landscaping businesses review pricing regularly, adjust for rising costs, and avoid matching competitors dollar for dollar. Set up consistent pricing frameworks that account for all of your expenses while still leaving room for profit. This helps ensure every job contributes to profit instead of quietly draining it (which can be a big issue with labor-heavy or custom work).
Learn more: How to price lawn care & mowing jobs for maximum profit
Step #3: Identify where landscaping jobs lose money
Small cost leaks add up quickly, especially in lawn care and landscaping. Untracked labor time, wasted materials, or underpriced jobs can shrink margins before you notice the impact on your take-home pay.
Carefully review job costs, especially for multi-day or crew-based projects. Identify which services are worth scaling and which need price or process changes. The sooner you cut these losses, the faster you can increase your profit.
Step #4: Tighten routes, schedules, and crew utilization
In lawn care and landscaping, inefficiency often hides in the calendar. Long drives, uneven routes, and half-filled days eat into profit, even when work is steady.
Make a habit of reviewing job costs, especially for multi-day projects or work that requires multiple crew members. Identify which services are worth scaling and which need price or process changes. The faster you fix these issues, the faster profit improves.
Step #5: Increase job value with smart upsells and add-ons
Upselling in landscaping isn’t about pushing unnecessary work. It’s about spotting natural next steps based on the property, season, or service already being done.
For example, you might recommend adding edging or mulch during a cleanup, or add aeration to a regular mowing customer’s service. You could also bundle seasonal services into a single visit. Each of these add-ons raises the value of the job without the cost of acquiring a new customer.
Step #6: Turn one-time customers into recurring revenue
Recurring work helps steady cash flow and makes your pay as an owner more reliable. It could be a lawn care route, seasonal maintenance plan, or repeat landscape services. Whatever your recurring service offerings are, building a base of clients who opt for these helps reduce the constant pressure of finding new leads.
Clear service offerings, consistent scheduling, and simple renewal processes make it easier for customers to stay on your calendar year after year. Bonus: Repeat customers tend to spend more over time and require less administrative effort.
Step #7: Reduce admin time that pulls you away from profitable work
The time you spend on admin tasks—like schedule changes, invoicing, or customer follow-ups—is time not spent growing the business. These tasks can add up fast and quietly limit your profits.
Streamlining how you schedule jobs, send invoices, and collect payments frees up hours each week. Those reclaimed hours can go toward higher-value tasks like pricing reviews, crew training, or customer relationships.
Step #8: Track the numbers that actually affect owner pay
Not every metric matters equally. For lawn care and landscaping businesses, owner pay is most influenced by profit margin, job costs, and when money comes in—not just total revenue.
Take time to regularly review which services are most profitable, where labor runs long, and how quickly invoices get paid. That’ll help you make smarter pricing and staffing decisions. Small adjustments here often have a bigger impact on take-home pay than adding more jobs.
Step #9: Grow capacity without overextending your team
There’s a fine line between growth and overload, especially during peak landscaping season. Strategic partnerships, subcontracting, or seasonal labor can help you take on more work without committing to year-round payroll.
Many landscaping businesses use this approach to handle peak-season demand or specialized work while keeping fixed costs under control. Done right, it helps your business grow without squeezing margins or your pay.
How Housecall Pro can help landscaping business owners
When lawn care routes are full and landscaping jobs overlap, it’s easy for small inefficiencies to chip away at profit. Missed time, inconsistent pricing, or slow invoicing don’t always stand out day to day. But over a season, they can have a real impact on what you take home as an owner.
Housecall Pro helps bring structure to those busy stretches by connecting scheduling, job costs, and payments in one place.
Housecall Pro’s lawn care and landscaping software includes:
- Scheduling and Dispatching: Build tighter routes, reduce drive time, and keep crews working efficiently to support higher job volume without adding labor hours.
- Job Costing: Track labor and materials by job so you can see which services are most profitable and which need adjustments.
- Price Book: Set consistent pricing for lawn care services, seasonal work, and landscaping add-ons, so every job is priced with profit in mind.
- Invoicing and Payment: Send invoices quickly, accept payments on the spot, and reduce cash flow delays during busy months.
- Advanced Reporting: Review important numbers like revenue, profit trends, and job performance to make informed decisions about pricing, staffing, and reinvestment.
Together, these tools make it easier to turn steady work into steady profit—without adding more admin work to your plate. See how Housecall Pro can work for your business with a free 14-day trial.
FAQ
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How much can you make as a lawn care business owner?
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Lawn care business owners can earn anywhere from $25,000 to over six figures per year, depending on profitability, season length, and how they pay themselves. Unlike hourly employees, owner income is tied more to margins and can vary drastically.
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How profitable is a landscaping business?
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A landscaping business can be extremely profitable when pricing accounts for labor, materials, and overhead. Full-service landscaping and recurring maintenance work often support stronger profits than one-off jobs.
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How much profit should a lawn care business make?
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Most lawn care businesses aim for a profit margin between 10% and 20%. The exact target depends on service mix, labor costs, and operational efficiency, but consistent margins matter more than total revenue.
